Air treatment devices such as, for example, air filters and purifiers, are designed to remove or reduce the amount of contaminants from the air. Generally speaking, these devices may be manufactured either as stand-alone units or as part of air handler units (AHU), heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, ventilation ducts, etc.
For example, a typical air treatment device may reduce odors, air pollutants, smoke, mold, bacteria, and viruses. In some cases, such devices may be installed or mounted into air conditioning and heating systems air ducts, where most air quality problems start. When an HVAC system is in operation, an air treatment device may oxidize pollutants, breaking them down into hydro-peroxides, super oxide ions, hydroxide ions, and/or other more friendly substances.
In many cases, air treatment devices are shipped and sold in cardboard packages. As the inventors hereof have recognized, however, these packages make it difficult for the customer (e.g., an HVAC contractor) to inspect the device without opening the box, for example, to determine its size and suitability for a particular project. Often, the customer does not know how the device is supposed to be installed or what it will look like after its installation. Moreover, once the customer removes the air treatment device from its packaging, it is subject to being damaged (e.g., the device's honeycomb panels and/or other more fragile elements can be particularly sensitive to the customer's handling), and/or it may have to be sold as an “open box item.”